keilholtz



Jan- 15! L. S. KEILHOLTZ CONTROLLER FOR ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS Filedlay 26 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet l zzfar L. S. KEILHOLTZ CONTROLLER FOR ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS Jan. 15, 1924.

Filed May 26 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 15, 1924. 1,480,618

L. s. KEILHOLTZ CONTROLLER FOR ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS Filed May 2's, 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 M57 5Q 5 fab Jan. 15, 1924. 1,480,618 L. S. KEILHOLTZ CONTROLLER FOR ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS Filed May 26 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 29 .57 a 3/; m 4T 8 Patented Jan. 15, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LESTER S. KEILHOLTZ, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO DELCO-LIGHT COMPANY, OF DAYTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.

CQNTROLLER FOR ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS.

Application tiled May 26,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, LESTER S. Krzrnnorxrz, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Dayton, county of Montgomery, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Controllers for Electrical Systems, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to electrical systems including a storage battery, a dynamo driven by an internal-combustion engine for charging the battery or operable as a motor to start the engine, and ignition apparatus for the engine. 1 1

One of the object of the invention is to control the system during the starting op oration in such a manner that sufficient current will be delivered to the ignition apparatus to 'furnish suitable ignition for'start ing, while the battery is also supplying current to the' dynamo. v r 1 Other and further objects andadvantags of the present invention-willrbe apparent from the following description; reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein preferred forms of one-embodiment are clearly shown. 1 r

In the drawings: i i Fig. 1.is a diagrammatic side elevation of an internal-combustion en 'ine direct-lyconnected with a dynamo whidli is partly shown in'section. together with a wiring diagram including a diagrammatic ide elevation of the controlling device included in the pres ent invention. i 0 Fig.2 is a front elevation of-sa-id controlling device; j

Fig. 3 is a left-side elevation of said device looking toward the right;

Fig. 4 is a right-side 'elevation'of'said device looking toward the left; and Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic View similar to Fig. 1. showing a modified form of the in vention. I In the drawings, 20 designates an interrial-combustion engine driving:a dynamo 21 which is directly connected-with the en gine. Dynamo 21 includesan armature 22, commutator 23, brushes 24 and 25, and field pole pieces 26 and 27.. The dynamo provided with a'shunt'field 28 connected across the-brushes 2A and 25, 'aindfwith a-se'ries field 29, one end ofwhich "is connected with brush 25, and the other with dynamo term-i 1919. Serial No. 299,876.

nal 30. Brush 24 is connected with termi nal 31, nd brush 25 with terminal 32.

Ignition for the engine is furnished by the agency of the ignition coil 40 which includes primary 41 connected with timer 42,-

The controller will now be described. This controller includes a frame 61 of magn'etic material supporting a magnet core 62 and an armature post 63. Post 63 supports a pivotally mounted armature 64. A mag netic circuit is formed by members 62, 61. 63 and 64, with a gap between the armature 64 and the core 62. Upon the core 62 is mounted a series magnet winding 65, one

end being connected with terminal 66 and the other with terminal 67. TllBCOIG 62 also supports a shunt magnetI'WindingSS, one end being connected with a terminal 69 pnd the other end connected with terminal (1 Terminal 67 is connectedwith a resilient conductor 71 carrying a non-conducting rubbing-block 72 and a contact 73. Contact 73 is arranged to engage with contact 74 which is connected with terminal 75. A roller 76, piyotally mounted upon the armature 64', engages the rubbing-block 72 when the armature 64; is moved upwardly, in order to more contact 73 into engagement with contact 74. Preferably the conductor 71 carries aresilient conductor, 77, carryin at its outer end a, contact of arc-withstiin ing material 78 projecting beyond the outer surface of contact 73, as is shown in Fig. 4.

Contact is connected with resilient conducting memberBO having its outer end bent a roller 86 which is arranged to engage with the rubbing-block 82 to make electrical contact therewith for a purpose to be described later, and to move the contact 81 out; of engagement with the contact 83.

e r i Pr ide illi m l stin tongue 87 which is arranged to engage the under side of a block 88 of non'magnetic material which is mounted upon' the under side of armature 64. The purpose of this block 88 is to prevent a magnetic circuit hein directly formed between a'r'mature 64 and lever 85, where these members are made of magnetic material, such as pressed steel. Thelever-Sfiand the armature 64 are preferably mounted upon rod 89, which is "supported by armature post 63 and held in position bgqqneansof the bolt 90.

A resilient conductor 100, carried by terminal 10 113.19. provided with aportion which extends ,withinthe path of motion of the conductor Z1," sol-as to. he 'engagedfthereby' wherf contacts T3, andi .74 are closed. The

atern inals-f fimt-filiz69,' 75, 84 arid-1101., w l 1i h have been 'desoribed, a're'all mounted .upon theflframe-fil' butane insulated therefrqmni 'ghe'frarnecarries one contact 105 which-is nndedthereon. All ofi'these terminals ut terminal GS-are connected to ,thesame sidepflthe-battery in order torethe possibility of shprt circuit of the imam! i"-..-ll t ry through. t e n ller 60 1 9: assist the resilient conc'tuotor to maintain the contact 81 normally in en- Agagpment with the'contact 83, a Spring 91 1s-,1nt,erpo sed' between a non-conducting stud-$2 supp anted by the-frame 61 and the under surface oisaidconductor 80,

-The connections between the dynamo, battery, ignition apparatus, and the controllernargias fiollows: Dynamo terminal 31 is connected with battery terminal 51 byn'a wire 110. Batteryterrninal' 52 is connected with controller terminal 66 by wireflll. Controller terminals 70 and '75 are connected bus-bar 112. Controller terminal 84 is, connected with generator terminal 32 by hacwire 113. Controller-terminal 70 is connectedwith generator terminal 30 by a wire 11%. "Wire 110 is connected by wire 1.15 with ignition terminal 43, and by wire 116. with controller terminal 69, Ignition tel-min h4 4 is connected by wire 117 with ter'inina .:101. ..The ignition terminal 9 is connected with terminal 105 by a wit-e118.

' The operation of the invention is'as followszflo start tlie engine the'lever 85" is pulled up, t-hat' is rotated clockwise, causmg the roller 86 to move into engagement with the rubbing-block 82 and make eleccontact therewith, and to separate contacqfsSl and 83. This itioi'eme'nt of lever 85 impartsclock-w-ise rotation to armature 64 through the tongue 87, causing. roller 76 separated. that current cannot flow out. of

generator terminal'32 through the conductor 1l 3,"andthence-' through terminal 84, cohtabts'BBfand 81-, and thence from terminal 7O tothe battery terminal"52 throu h the circuit described; "In this manner t 1e short"cincu it"air'ound th'e series: winding is interrupted-sci thatTthe'dynamo will act as a compound-wound motor, the slinntwinding 28 being-at alliimesko'rm'cted across the brushes 24 and 25:"

position. describedg-tlie following ignition circuit wnl be'establishedz' from battery terminal' 51', through' wire 110, wire 1-15, ignition terminalf 43, timer 42, i im'ary 41,

resistance a part; ofi'which 1s shortecircuited by wire 48 leading tofter-minal49. From terminal 49-the" eater part'df the current passing? throng coil 41 wil-l'pass through wire r llfito the grounded terminal-105. liron terminal the circuitcontinues through the "frame "61 armature post 63, lever 85, roller 86,nubbiltg-bl oclr 82, conductor 80, terminal Z0,'bi1s bar1 12, terminal 7 5, contact $4, contact 73, 'co'nduo tor 71 ,terininal"'67:, series winding (35,terminal: fifiywir 11 1 to the ncgatiie battery terminal '52. During theSta-rting operation the'd ynamo, 'wlien actingas a motorionsumes considerable cur rent fro rnfihe hattery, causing a considerable drop in poten tial across'the batter-Iv terminals, and unless some means is provided for decreasing'the re'sistanceof theignition circuit under'these conditions, the 'ignitioh apparatus will not 'receiire itsfiill'sharc of current for ignition purposes." lnth pn'esent' invention this difiicult-y' is overcome o sho'rt-ci rcuiting a fin;- tiorr'of theig' nitibn esistancein' thi manner described, so that notwithstanding thedijop in 'potential across the batteg' terminals sufficient cintnent"wil-l be delivered during the starting'dperation to the ignition-apparatus, s'o-that adequate ignition-will be forhished (i-1. a.

"After the engine become self-operathe it' will quickly up in speed and will operate tlie'dynamq' as a generator furnish'currenti'for Battery charging purposes In order to. 'roaintain thecircuit r Whenthe'starting lever 85 is still in the connections between the dynamo and battery in order that current may be delivered to the battery from the dynamo, series magnet winding and shunt magnet winding 68 are utilized. The one winding being a voltage winding and the other a current winding, the armature 64 is maintained in attracted position with respect to magnet core 62 as long as the output of the dynamo exceeds a predetermined value.

\Vith the armature 64 maintained magnetically in circuit closing position, the starting lever 85 may be released, that is, brought into running position, causing the contacts 81 and 83 to be brought to gether to short-circuit the series-field winding 29. The dynamo will then act as a shunt-wound generator to charge the battery. Upon release of the lever 85 and its return to normal position shown in Fig. 1, the roller 86 will move out of engagement with the rubbing-block 82 and will thereby break the short circuit around the portion of the ignition resistance. During the generating operation the ignition circuit is as follows: from battery terminal 51, through wires 110 and 115 to ignition terminal 43, then through timer 42, primary 41. ignition resistance 47, terminal 44, wire 117, terminal 101, contact 100, conductor 71, terminal 67, series winding 65, terminal 66, wire 111 and to the battery terminal 52. The battery E. M. F. available for supplying current for operating the dynamo for starting and for supplying ignition current while starting the engine is obviously less than the E. M. F. of the dynamo when operating as a generator. Therefore it is necessary that the resistance in the primary ignition circuit be relatively small during engine starting and relatively greater during battery charging in order that no more current will be delivered to the ignition circuit than is necessary. This increase of resistance is effected automatically through the agency of the controller device which has been described. In case the voltage across the battery terminals is greater than that required for ignition purposes, instead of the ignition terminal 43 being connected with the end battery cell, it may be connected with a positive terminal of one of the batteries intermediate the end cells of the battery, depending on the voltage required for ignition purposes.

In case the speed of the engine falls off to such a low value that the output of the generator falls below a value sufiicient to oppose the battery. the current from the battery will tend to fiow toward the generator to drive the same as a motor. When this occurs there will be a reversal of current in the series magnet winding 65 which will tend to create magnetism in opposition to that created by the voltage wind ing 6%. When this occurs the attractive force upon the armature 04 will not be suflicient to maintain it in circuit closing position against the forces exerted by the resilient conducting member 71 upon the roller 76. It will be noted that the relation of the armature 64 and roller 76 to the rubbing-block 72 is such that if there is any tendency for the magnet to release its magnetic grip upon its armature 64, this tendency will give the spring conducting member 71 an opportunity to increase the gap between armature 64 and the core 62. Any increase in the gap will make it the more difiicult for the magnet to maintain the armature 64 in attracted position. At the same time, as the gap increases, the leverage of the spring force of member 71 upon the roller 76, or the moment of this force about the fulcrum pin 89, will also increase. Although the spring force in resilient member 71 is decreasing all the time that roller 76 is moving upwardly, the relation be tween roller 76 and block 72 is such that during the upward movement of roller 76 the lever arm of the spring force exerted by member 71 increases at a morerapid rate than the decrease of the spring force. Therefore if there is any tendency for the magnet to release its grip upon the armature and to decrease the spring pressure between contacts 73 and 74 to any substantial degree by any slight upward movement of the roller 76. this tendency will be assisted in increasing amounts as the gap between the armature and the magnet core increases. Therefore, if the spring tension in member 71 is released by the magnet to any substantial degree, the armature 64 will be almost instantly moved out of attracted position under the action of the spring pressure in member 71. and the contacts 73 and 74.which'carry all of the charging current will be almost instantly separated. Therefore it is apparent that these contacts 73 and 74 will either be held together with sufficient pressure to insure a good contact or else they will be separated with suflicient rapidity to prevent arcing. This feature of the invention has been described and claimed in my'co-pending application, Serial No. 310,109. filed July 11. 1919.

Arcing at the main contacts 73 and 74 is also prevented by virtue of the non-arring. or arc-withstanding. cont-act 78. which engages contact 74 before contact 73 engages said contact 74, and remains in engagement with contact 74 for an instant after the separation of contact 73 from contact 74.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 5. the dynamo is provided with a shunt field 28 only and with termimale 31 and 32. The controller 60' difiers from the controller in that contacts 81* and 83, which are arranged similarly to contacts 81 and 83 of the controller 60, are normally open; the contact 81 carries an insulated rubbing block 82 against which the roller 86 bears; and the contact 100 which is engaged by spring member 71 is grounded on the controller frame 61. In

other respects the controller 60 is like the controller (30. \Vire' 1148 connects terminal 32 with terminal and bus-bar 112. iVire 11'? connects grounded terminal 105 with terminal 44. Wire 118" connects contact 83' and terminal 84 with terminal 49.

When the lever 85 is pulled up to Start the engine, contacts 8l and- 83 engage to short-circuit a portion of the ignition resistance, and armature 64 is actuated to cause the engagement of contacts 73 and 74, and the engagement of member 71 with contact 100. The dynamo, battery and ignition devices are thereby connected but with a portion of the ignition resistance shortcircuited. Afterthe engine becomes selfoperative; at a predetermined engine speed the armature 64 will be retained in circuit closing position while lever 85 may be released to open the short-circuit'of the ignition resistance.

While the forms of mechanisms herein shown and described constitute preferred embodiments of one form of the invention, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted andvario'ns changes and alterations made in the shape, size, and proportion of the elements therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is as follows:

1. In a controller for an engine starting and battery charging system. including an engine. a storage battery. a dynamo driven by the engine to charge the battery or oper: able on battery current to crank the engine, and ignition means for the engine including a primary circuit having a. resistance. the combination with automatic means for maintaining closed circuits from the battery to the dynamo and ignition means", but permitting said ircuits toopen when the engine speed falls below a certain value; of manual means operating through said automatic means for initially closing said circuits, said manual means being also adapted -to reduce the ignition circuit resistance when moved to close said circuits.

2. In a controller for an engine starting and battery charging system. including an engine. a storage battery. a dynamo driven by the engine to'charge the battery or oper able on battery current to crank the engine. and ignition means for the engine including a primary circuit having a resistance. the combination with electromagnetic means for. maintaining closed circuits from the and ignition means for the engine including i,

a primary circuit having a resistance. the combination with means including a manually movable member for connecting the battery to the dynamo and ignition and for ,decreasing the normal ignition resistance;

automatic means for maintaining connection between the battery and dynamoan'dignition. unless the engine speed falls below a certain value,.-wh-ile permitting said member to return to -.inoperative position and to cause the ignition-resistance to be, increased.

4. In a controller foran engine-starting and battery charging system, including an engine, a=storage battery, a dynamo driven bythe engineto'charge the batteryor .oper- Mable on battery current to crank the engine, I

and'ignition means for the engine including a primaryclrcult having a resistance, the

combination with means including'a manually movable member for 'cennecting the battery to the dynamo and ignition and for decreasing 'thenormail ignition resist ance automatic {means operating independently of the manually movable member for maintaining connections between the battery and dynamo and ignition, whereby said member may return to inoperative position and to cause the ignition resistance to be increased. 1

5. In a controller for an engine starting and battery charging system, including an engine, a storage battery, a dynamo driven by the engine to charge the battery or operable on battery current to crank the engine, and ignition means for the engine including a primary circuit having a resistance, the combination with means including a manually movable memberfor connecting the battery to the dynamo and ignition and for decreasing the normal ignition; resistance automatic means operatingindependently ofthe manually movable member for maintaining connections between the battery and dynamo and ignition; and a shunt circuit for reducing the ignition circuit resistanceand. controlled independently of said I automatic means by said manually movable member.

6. In a controller for an engine starting and battery charging system-i, including an engine, a Storage battery a dynamo driven by theengine tocharge the battery or oper able on battery current to crank the engine, and ignition means for the engine including a primary circuit having a resistance, the combination with a controller frame having an electrical connection rounded thereon; of a shunt circuit for re ucing the ignition circuit resistance and including said frame; of means for maintaining closed circuits from the battery to the dynamo and igni tion means; of manual means for initially closing said circuit of the dynamo and battery and bein grounded 'on said frame and adapted to cIose said shunt circuit when moved for initially closing said circuit from the dynamo to the battery.

7. In a controller for an engine starting and battery char ing system, including an engine, a storage attery, a dynamo driven b the engine to charge the batter or open able on battery current to crank the engine, and ignition means for the engine including a primary circuit having a resistance, the combination of means including a manually movable member and a pivotal support therefor for connecting the battery to the dynamo and i ition and for decreasing the normal ignition resistance; means for maintaining connections between the battery and dynamo and ignition; and a shunt circuit for reducing the i ition resistance, said manually movab e member and pivotal support being included in said shunt circuit.

8. In a controller for an engine starting and battery charging system, including an engine, a storage battery, a dynamo driven by the engine to charge the battery or operable on battery current to crank the engine, and ignition means for the engine including a primary circuit having a resistance, the combination with means including a manually movable member for connecting the battery to the dynamo and ignition, automatic means for maintaining connection between the battery and dynamo and ignition unless the engine speed falls below a certain value, and a shunt circuit for re ducing the ignition circuit resistance, said manually movable member being included in said shunt circuit and adapted to interrupt said shunt circuit when returned to its inoperative position.

9. In a controller for an engine starting and battery charging system, including an gine, and ignition means for the engine ineluding a primary circuit having a resistance, the combination with automatic means for maintaining closed circuits from the battery to the dynamo and ignition means, but permitting said circuits to open when the engine speed falls below a certain value; of manual means operating through said automatic means for initially closin said circuits; and a shunt circuit for re ucing the ignition circuit resistance, said manual means being included in said shunt circuit.

10. In a controller for an engine starting and battery charging system, including an engine, a storage battery, a dynamo driven by the engine to charge the battery or oper able on battery current to crank the engine, and ignition means for the engine including a primary circuit having a resistance, the combination with automatic means for maintaining closed circuits from the battery to the dynamo and ignition means; of manual means operating through said automatic means for initially closing said circuits, said manual means being also adapted to reduce the ignition circuit resistance when moved to close said circuits.

11. In a controller for an engine starting and battery charging system, including an engine, a storage battery, a dynamo having compound field windings driven by the en gine to charge the battery or operable on attery current to crank the engine, and ignition means for the engine including a primary circuit having a resistance, the combination with automatic means for maintaining closed circuits from the battery to the dynamo and ignition means, of man ual means operating through said automatic means for initially closing said circuits, said manual means being also adapted to. reduce the ignition circuit resistance and to render the series field operative when moved to close said circuits.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

LESTER S. KEILHOLTZ.

Witnesses:

J. W. MCDONALD, MILDRED PEARE. 

